Cassie Brown of TCG Events Shares Her Top 5 Ways to Drive Event Sponsorship [Meetings Focus]

/in /by

By Cassie Brown

Cassie Brown, CEO of TCG Events, which specializes in planning and executing corporate events that drive business for their clients through the company’s proprietary EventSmarter approach, offers the following advice to make your sponsorship packages stand out from a crowded market based on her company’s success:

1) Customize each sponsorship to the company being solicited.  Do your homework – what are the hot initiatives at a company? Tailor opportunities to sponsors needs – be strategic and create packages that are suited to each sponsor, create opportunities that are of value to the individual corporations.

Some companies may be looking for brand awareness where some companies may be looking for opportunities to test their products. Find out what they want/need then create your proposal. Don’t assume you know what they want.

Be specific about their benefits – Tell them exactly what they will be getting in return for their sponsorship. What benefit are you providing them that no one else is/can? A logo on a screen and a table at the event isn’t enough.

2) Deliver what you promised, before and during the event. Don’t over promise attendee counts. Be honest. Have more names on the list than you have opportunities.

Not everyone says yes. Often time there are lots of logistics and fulfillment pieces that have to be arranged for sponsors.

Dedicate someone to manage those relationships and pull together their logistics in a timely and friendly manner. Sponsorship is a business transaction not a donation. 

3) Track your data. Companies want a ROI. Do pre-event and post-event surveys asking specific questions about sponsors. Know the demographics and psychographics of attendees and why that would be important to a company. Ask the sponsor how they determine success and figure out how to measure that.

4) Don’t just dump them after an event. Solicit feedback, thank them, court them so they want to play again next year. Remember, the devil’s in the details: generic, form letter thank you notes are a terrible idea. Don’t misspell company or individual names in the letters.

Many companies have tricky names – LendingTree is often misspelled as two words even though it is one. Or Sheetz has a “z” instead of an “s.”

5) And finally, don’t get stopped before you’ve started: Don’t screw up the logo. Ask for branding guidelines. Many companies have specific rules for logos. One very common one is the logo must be on a white background.

If the logo is going on a black bag or red PowerPoint slide that can be a problem.

About the Author: With an event management background spanning two decades, Cassie Brown assumed the role of President & CEO of TCG Events in 2011. Under her direction or direct project management, Cassie’s work has earned the company awards in event, decor, invitation, and program categories.

An active participant in the International Special Events Society, Cassie has served on the Board of Directors and as President of the Charlotte, NC chapter. She is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, universities and association meetings.

She was an adjunct professor at Johnson & Wales University and has taught courses in event management at Central Piedmont Community College.

Read the original article in Meetings Focus.

Contracting Entertainers: Don’t Forget Your (Music) License

/in /by


Don’t Forget Your LicenseA Music License may be the last thing on your to-do list before your next big event. Music licensing is one of the most misunderstood topics within the intellectual property field.  Therefore, we hope this blog will clear up some of the confusion.

Legally, in order to play copyrighted music to the general public – even if you purchased it on iTunes – you must obtain public performance rights.

Now, how do you know if your function is considered a public performance? Copyright law defines public as “a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered”. For instance, music at a friend’s cookout or birthday party would not classify as public, but a nonprofit gala would.

Two large companies handle all the public performance licensing rights, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated), which makes the process fairly seamless. Each one handles a catalog of millions of songs. Therefore, purchasing both licenses would cover almost all music. If you want to play music in a lobby or elevator, you will need a commercial music services license through Muzak, a separate entity.

The company hosting the event must hold the license, not the event planner. Luckily, the licenses are good for one year and renewing process is quite simple.

Costs:

  • ASCAP bases its fees on the number of attendees.
  • BMI fees are a bit more complex.  For a special event with paid admission, the fee is based off a percentage of the ticket revenue.
  • For an event that is free to attendees, the fee is 1.5% of the total entertainment cost or $198.00, whichever is greater.
  • If you are hosting a benefit event, the BMI fee is based on seating capacity.
  • After deducting operating expenses, fees are collected and distributed as royalties to the artists.

Both ASCAP & BMI are associations representing 500,000+ members. These licenses protect the artist’s material and create a bridge between artists and those who want to play their music. Purchasing these licenses for your events is essential in order to legally play copyrighted music.

 

Go Digital: 5 Benefits of Mobile Bidding

/in /by

Mobile bidding can help you surpass your fundraising goal at your next event. The addition of technology in live and silent auctions has changed the way attendees bid, pay and interact at fundraising events. Here are some of the top benefits:

1) Live and silent auction items can be viewed before the event. Guests will be able to come prepared ready to bid on the items they want to take home.

2) Guests are required to pre-register their credit card. This can be done on the hosted website before the event or when they arrive onsite with a simple swipe. This ensures all payments by the close of the event.

3) In a live auction, guests can check out as soon as their item is closed.

4) Guests will receive alerts on any items that have not been bid on for a silent auction. Then you are less likely to have items that are never bid on at the end of the evening.

5) Guests can monitor their bids at anytime without having to go to the location of the item. As a planner or client you can also monitor the exact dollar amount raised at anytime!

If your guests do not have to have a smart phone, representatives from the bidding company are on hand with iPads to assist and make bids for guests. The staff will also assist guests with bidding on their own phones as well as answer questions.

These user-friendly systems are positively changing auctions and non-profits one event at a time.